Four starters on Penn State football’s offensive line graduated or declared for the 2026 NFL Draft.
They don’t get as much love as quarterbacks, running backs, or receivers, but the men in the trenches are often looked at as the true backbone of a successful offense.
Needless to say, head coach Matt Campbell and offensive line coach Ryan Clanton have their work cut out for them to mold a talented position group into a dependable one.
The only returning starter is redshirt junior right tackle Anthony Donkoh, who has started on the line for the past two years.
Campbell has confidence Donkoh is capable of leading their unit.
“We feel as good about that room as any room,” Campbell said earlier this month. “To be able to keep those guys, to get Donkoh to come back, and what he’s about.”
Donkoh has started 21 games the past two seasons and has blossomed into a veteran leader at Penn State.
“That guy, you want to talk about who’s the leader, he’s the leader,” Campbell said. “3.8 student, one of the best players here, has got a chance to be one of the absolute best players in our football program.”
Cooper Cousins has bounced between guard and center, likely projecting as the starting right guard in 2026.
Cousins burned his redshirt in 2024 and was a key depth piece in Penn State’s run to the College Football Playoff semifinals.
The logjam of positional depth, plus his added development, makes Cousins a valuable anchor point of the offensive line.
“Cooper Cousins, what that guy is about, what he’s got the ability to become,” Campbell said. “He’s nothing short of elite.”
The right side of the line appears set, but the final three spots are more of a mystery. The most competitive battle may be for the man in the middle.
“I think there’s going to be great competitions at center,” Campbell said. “You’ve got Dom Rulli coming back. He’s meant a lot, a senior here, loves this place and what it stands for.”
A 6-foot-3 redshirt senior, Rulli started Penn State’s Pinstripe Bowl win over Clemson at Yankee Stadium and appeared in all 13 contests.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Campbell recruited redshirt junior Trevor Buhr to join him from Iowa State. Buhr started six of the eight games they appeared in and earned All-Big 12 honorable mention honors.
“Trevor Buhr, we thought, was one of the best interior O-linemen in the entire country coming back next year and has started for two years and has played as good a football as anybody,” Campbell said.
Buhr has started 12 career games and is a player to watch at center and guard.
If Donkoh stays at right tackle and doesn’t move to left, the blindside spot is a mystery.
Former five-star tackle Malachi Goodman fits the profile of everything you’d want in a star left tackle.
At 6-foot-6 and 315 pounds, Goodman redshirted his freshman year and decided to return to play for Campbell and Clanton.
“I just think you look at Malachi Goodman, there’s another unbelievably talented football player, I think who has got high-end potential,” Campbell said.
Goodman didn’t play a game in 2025 and had the necessary tools, but Penn State will be relying on a young and inexperienced player at the position, one way or another.
The five names that Campbell mentioned could be the leaders in the clubhouse for starting jobs. Returnees Owen Aliciene and Garrett Sexton weren’t mentioned but could also compete for opportunities at tackle.
Texas State transfer Brock Riker and Iowa State transfer Vaea Ikakoula have been added to the interior offensive line.
“There’s almost two-and-a-half deep on that O-line, and I don’t know who the starters are going to be, but they’re going to have to go earn it,” Campbell said. “We’re going to have to see who can consistently be the guys.”
Information about the 2026 Blue-White Game has yet to be released. Spring practices and the annual team scrimmage at Beaver Stadium will provide some clarity on how the room progresses this spring.
“I think there’s great talent in that room,” Campbell said.
